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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · drill · arm · object · can · lean · straw · bat

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. object — a thing
  3. can — to be able to
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. can — a tin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bat — the animal
  13. lean — to bend
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. drill — the tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. drill — army training
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — a practice
  22. can — a tin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lean — thin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com